In other words: Uh … hmmhmm … Well, I don`t quite know what this means. My best guess is that the President left out a part of the sentence necessary for it to make sense.

More Bush:

“There are so-called innkeepers, providing substandard hovels for people who are smuggled into our country. In other words, we have got a system that is causing people—good, decent people—to be exploited.”

The amateurishness of Friday`s remarks is noteworthy. Despite all his failures as a manager and “decider,” Bush`s speeches have traditionally done a better job of putting a more eloquent gloss on his policies than they`ve deserved. Now, though, even an eloquent speechwriting staff can`t help. We`re seeing the real Bush

Moreover, the hectoring inanity of his arguments—“America must not fear diversity. We ought to welcome diversity”—is revealing.

It`s not just that after more than six years of pushing for amnesties and guest worker programs, the President can`t come up with better reasons; it`s that nobody can. Instead of analysis of the facts, the American public is bullied with the threat of being smeared as racist.

Bush went on:

“This bill isn`t amnesty. For those who call it amnesty, they`re just trying to, in my judgment, frighten people about the bill.”

“More than 40 percent of Mexicans in a new survey would opt to immigrate [sic] to the United States and more than 20 percent of them would enter this country illegally given the opportunity, a study released Tuesday disclosed.”[Poll: Over 40% in Mexico would live in U.S.|Pew study also finds many Hispanics born here support curbs By Vincent J. Schodolski, August 17, 2005]

“My prediction: … It will fall apart in Congress because the Democrats want to put more immigrants on the road to being voters, confident that the majority will vote Democratic. The more intelligent Republicans understand that and don`t want it.”

By the first week in September of 2001, Bush`s plan was dead in the water. He was only saved from a humiliating rebuff in the House by the 9/11 attacks.

So, when Bush relaunched his amnesty plan in January 2004, he altered it to deny citizenship to the illegal aliens he intended to legalize. Instead, he converted them into a disenfranchised caste of unassimilated guest workers.

Bush then realized that perpetual helotry for immigrants wasn`t an appealing notion. So he conceded that illegal aliens should become citizens. But to mollify the House Republicans, he declared that they shouldn`t become citizens soon.

And here`s where the President displayed his genius for stupidity—with a masterful bit of verbal legerdemain so idiotic that it successfully stupefied everybody who wasn`t paying the closest attention to immigration policy (e.g., the entire Mainstream Media).

What Bush did was redefine“amnesty” to mean … putting legalized illegal aliens first in line for full citizenship. In contrast, according to the President, giving them the legal right to be in the country but making them wait their turn to vote behind legal Green Card holders applying for citizenship was not amnesty!

“Now, it`s very important for our citizens to also know that I don`t believe we ought to have amnesty. I don`t think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen. And we ought not to crowd these people ahead of them in line. If they want to become a citizen, they can stand in line, too. And here is where my opponent and I differ. In September 2003, he supported amnesty for illegal aliens.”

Of course, what amnesty primarily is about is not citizenship, but legal residency—the right to continue to enjoy your ill-gotten gain of living in the United States.

Mr. Bush`s definition of “amnesty” was so off-the-wall moronic that it made your head hurt to try to think about it. And that was the brilliance of it. The rather obtuse John Kerry couldn`t figure it out, and let the issue die—along with his chance at the White House.

“They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it.” [Emphasis mine.]

And on Friday, Bush came up with yet another definition of amnesty:

“This bill isn`t amnesty… This bill is one that says we recognize that you`re here illegally and there`s a consequence for it.”

Oh yeah? The main “consequence” is that the illegal resident gets, virtually immediately, the legal right to reside in our country. The fines specified in the Kennedy-Bush plan would be a tiny fraction of the net present value of American residence.

And what if the illegals don`t pay the fine? Is Mr. Bush going to round them up and deport them?